Conditions 8617 & 8618: Reporting AUD10,000 Money Transfers, Debts and Bankruptcy (2026)

Yes. If condition 8617 is attached to your visa and you receive, within any period of 30 days, an amount or amounts totalling AUD10,000 or more from one or more other people, you must notify Immigration within 5 working days of that happening. The rule runs in both directions: transferring amounts totalling AUD10,000 or more to one or more people inside any 30-day period carries the same 5 working day notification duty. The wording comes from Schedule 8 to the Migration Regulations 1994, as published by the Federal Register of Legislation on its Migration Regulations 1994 — Schedule 8 visa conditions page, as at the September 2026 version of that page. What follows is general information about how the rule is written rather than advice about any individual visa, so where your own situation is at stake, the official legislation and a qualified professional remain the reference points.

What does condition 8617 actually require?

Condition 8617 sets two triggers, and each one is a separate "matter" that has to be notified within 5 working days after it occurs:

• Money in: the holder receives, within any period of 30 days, an amount or amounts totalling AUD10,000 or more from one or more other persons.
• Money out: the holder transfers, within any period of 30 days, an amount or amounts totalling AUD10,000 or more to one or more other persons.

Two features of that wording do most of the work. First, "one or more other persons" means payments are aggregated across people — five payments from five different people count together, they are not assessed one at a time. Second, the clause refers simply to "an amount or amounts", without carving out a category of payment by its purpose or label, so the test is the amount and the timing rather than what the money was for.

The condition text itself does not specify a form or channel for the notification; it fixes the trigger and the deadline.

How is the "any period of 30 days" total calculated?

The 30 days is a rolling window, not a calendar month and not a statement cycle. The question is whether some 30-day stretch contains AUD10,000 or more in total, which means the window keeps moving forward day by day rather than resetting on the first of the month or after a notification is made.

Assume a visa holder receives AUD4,000 from one person on 4 March, AUD3,500 from a second person on 15 March and AUD3,000 from a third person on 27 March. No single receipt reaches AUD10,000, but the three together total AUD10,500 inside a 30-day window, so the receiving limb is triggered. Had the third payment arrived on 12 April instead, the first payment would have dropped out of the 30-day frame and the total inside any 30-day window would have been AUD6,500.

When does the 5 working day deadline start?

The deadline in condition 8617 runs "within 5 working days after the matter occurs". The matter occurs when the 30-day total reaches AUD10,000 or more — that is, on the day of the receipt or transfer that tips the running total over the threshold. Because working days rather than calendar days are specified, weekends and public holidays are not counted the same way they would be under a calendar-day deadline.

Because the clause lists receiving and transferring as separate matters, a holder who both receives and transfers over the threshold during the same period owes two notifications, each with its own 5 working day clock.

Other notification conditions in Schedule 8 run to different clocks, which is a common source of confusion: condition 8578 allows 14 days for changes to residential address, email, phone number or passport details, while condition 8625 allows only 2 working days for changes to name, address, phone number or email.

What does condition 8618 add about debts and bankruptcy?

Condition 8618 covers the balance sheet rather than the bank statement, and it has three limbs, each with the same 5 working day deadline:

1. Incurring debt: if the holder incurs a debt or debts totalling AUD10,000 or more, notification is due within 5 working days after the debt or debts are incurred. As with 8617, the total is what matters — several smaller debts can reach the threshold together.
2. Bankruptcy: if the holder is declared bankrupt, notification is due within 5 working days after the holder is so declared.
3. Significant change: the holder must notify Immigration of any significant change in relation to the holder's debts or bankruptcy within 5 working days after the change occurs.

The clause does not define "significant change", and it does not attach the 30-day aggregation window used in condition 8617 to any of these three limbs; each is keyed to the event or change itself.

Which visas carry conditions 8617 and 8618?

Neither condition applies to every Australian visa automatically. The note to the Schedule 8 conditions states that whether a visa of a particular class may be made subject to a given condition depends on the relevant provision in Schedule 2 of the Migration Regulations 1994. In practice, the conditions that attach to a particular visa are those the Schedule 2 provisions for that subclass require or permit, and they are recorded with the grant of that visa. That is why two people holding visas of different subclasses can be subject to quite different reporting obligations even though both are reading the same Schedule 8 table.

What happens if a condition like this is breached?

The note accompanying these conditions points to sections 41 and 116 to 119 of the Migration Act 1958 for cancellation for breaches of conditions. That is the framework a breach feeds into; nothing in the condition text sets out what outcome follows in a particular case, and no outcome should be assumed from the existence of the obligation alone.

Frequently Asked Questions

If I receive AUD10,000 in several smaller payments, do I still have to notify?

Yes, provided condition 8617 applies to your visa. The clause refers to "an amount or amounts totalling AUD10 000 or more" received from "one or more other persons" within any 30-day period, so separate payments are added together. A single payment of AUD10,000 is not required for the threshold to be met.

Does condition 8617 cover money I send to other people, not just money I receive?

Yes. Limb (b) of the condition covers the holder transferring, within any period of 30 days, amounts totalling AUD10,000 or more to one or more other persons. Receiving and transferring are listed as separate matters, so both can arise in the same period and each carries its own notification.

Is the deadline 5 working days or 5 calendar days?

Condition 8617 specifies 5 working days after the matter occurs, and condition 8618 uses the same 5 working day period for debts, bankruptcy and significant changes. Other Schedule 8 conditions use different measures, such as 14 days for address and passport changes under condition 8578, so the deadline has to be read from the condition that applies.

Do I have to report a debt below AUD10,000?

Condition 8618 is triggered by "a debt or debts totalling AUD10 000 or more", so debts below that figure do not meet the threshold on their own. The clause still requires notification of any significant change in relation to the holder's debts or bankruptcy within 5 working days after the change occurs, and it does not define "significant change".

What does "any period of 30 days" mean in practice?

It means a rolling window rather than a calendar month or a bank statement period. The test is whether any 30-day stretch contains AUD10,000 or more in total, so payments that sit close together can meet the threshold even when no individual payment does, while the same amounts spread further apart may not.

How do I know whether conditions 8617 and 8618 are on my visa?

The Schedule 8 note says whether a visa of a particular class may be made subject to a condition depends on the relevant Schedule 2 provision for that visa class. The conditions attached to a visa are those the Schedule 2 provisions require or permit for that subclass, and they are recorded with the grant.

References

• Federal Register of Legislation — Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 8, visa condition 8617
• Federal Register of Legislation — Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 8, visa condition 8618
• Federal Register of Legislation — Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 8, visa condition 8578
• Federal Register of Legislation — Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 8, visa condition 8625